Social Networking: Good or Bad?

It seems that Social Networking has taken over our world--literally. Almost every website you go to has an option to "post to Facebook", "Twitter", or "Pin to Pinterst". Nothing is sacred or private anymore.

I will  be the first to admit that I love Facebook. I love being able to keep in touch with old friends, post the important events happening in my life, and doing a little "spying" here and there when I feel the need. It has become a part of my everyday life. In fact, in the morning before I even eat breakfast, I will log into my Facebook (I do not have a Twitter--yet) and check to see what's going on in all of my "friends" lives. It often causes for some entertaining reading if nothing else. Do any of you have those "friends" on your page who only post their most drama filled issues in life? I have a few, and trust me, I have hovered my mouse over the "remove from friends" button several times, but I never actually do it. Why? Because it's entertaining of course. No longer do people have to be the nosy neighbor, peeking out their front window searching for something crazy to happen. All we have to do, is log in to Facebook and the entertainment never stops.

Social Networking definitely has it's downfalls as well. One of the biggest problems comes from young children signing up for accounts. With no real age limits, high school, middle school, and even elementary students are getting Facebook and Twitter pages and it is causing astronomical problems. Young children do not know what is appropriate and not appropriate to post on their pages. There have been multiple issues, both local and not, where young girls are posting near naked photos of themselves on their pages. You can obviously see where this would cause problems. Predators are everywhere when it comes to Social Networking sites. They seek out these young girls and basically have full access to their personal information. Facebook even recently added an app that allows people to check-in to places from there mobile phone. There is no better way to tell a stalker where to find you than posting on your social networking site that you just checked-in at Applebees.

Bullying has also been taken to the extreme since young children started using Facebook. Young children are posting embarrassing photos of each other to their walls and publicly bashing each other through messages and posts. I can think of several cases I have read about within the last two years when young children have committed suicide because of bullying through Facebook. Something needs to be done to stop this. In my opinion, Facebook needs to have better regulations to monitor the age restrictions for acquiring accounts. Parents also need to be taking some responsibility in making sure their children are using Social Networking in a responsible way.

The thought of Social Networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are ingenious. If properly used, it can be a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family. It is important however, to be aware of the problems it can cause if abused. Young children need to be monitored and we ALL must use common sense with what we post on a daily basis.